laalah-e .sahraa

yih guNbad-e miinaaii ! yih aalam-e tanhaaii !
mujko to Daraatii hai is dasht kii pahnaaii !


this dome of azure! this state/world of solitude!
it frightens me, the breadth/expanse of this desert!


bhaTkaa huaa raahii maiN , bhaTkaa huaa raahii tuu !
manzil hai kahaa;N terii ay laalah-e .sahraaii ?


I am a traveler who has lost the way, you are a traveler who has
lost the way; where is your destination, oh desert tulip?


KHaalii hai kaliimoN se yih koh-o-kamar varnah
tuu shulah-e siinaaii , maiN shulah-e siinaaii !


this mountain and foothills are empty of speakers-- otherwise
you are a flame of Sinai, I am a flame of Sinai!


tuu shaax se kyuuN phuuTaa , maiN shaax se kyuuN TuuTaa
ik jazbah-e paidaaii ! ik lazzat-e yaktaaii !


why did you burst into bloom from the branch, why did I
break from the branch?a single emotion of birth/creation!
a single relish of uniqueness!


Gavvaa.s-e muhabbat kaa allaah nigah-baaN ho
har qa:trah-e daryaa meN , daryaa kii hai gahraaii !


may God be the guardian of the diver of love
in every drop of the ocean, is the depth of the ocean


us mauj ke maatam meN rotii hai bhaNvar kii aaNkh
daryaa se uThii , lekin saahil se nah Takraaii !


the eye of the whirlpool weeps in mourning for that wave
[that] arose from the ocean, but didn't collide with the shore!


hai garmii-e aadam se hangaamah-e aalam garm
suuraj bhii tamaashaaii , taare bhii tamaashaaii !


from the heat/fervor of Adam, the commotion/tumult of the world
is hot/fervent the sun too is a spectator, the stars too are spectators !

ay baad-e biyaabaanii mujko bhii inaayat ho;
KHaamoshii-o-dil-sozii , sarmastii-o-ranaaii !


oh desert wind, may there be vouchsafed to me too
silence and heart-burningness, intoxication and gracefulness!